When I first got into researching these things that nobody understood (and thus usually translated this not understanding into denial or blind acceptance) I had not yet freed myself of some of the romantic notions associated with magic and the paranormal.

Being a great lover of books, one trope that I was the most disappointed to find was not true was the idea of the grimoire. A big, fat, mysterious book bound in some unspecified leather, handed down from before the Renaissance and containing the secret wisdom of the Universe.

Certainly there are many grimoire in existence (even if impressive lies are usually told about their provenance) but they only contain, at best, a magical system, usually with long and complex preparations to convince you that this is SERIOUS BUSINESS. Which is the point of any magical system, of course.

Then there are utterly non-existent books like the Necronomicon which have been brought into existence by sheer force of will – even if they bear no resemblance to the supposed original. I guess that counts as a magical act.